One small step for man...

We shall not cease from exploration

And the end of all our exploring

Will be to arrive where we started

And know the place for the first time.
Little Gidding, T.S. Eliot

On July 20, 1969 (21st in the UK!) the human race accomplished possibly the greatest scientific and technological leap in our relatively short history, when a human first set foot on the moon. Although some may argue that our space programmes have reached their potential, but surely it is our desire for exploration that makes us who we are…

Regardless, this is certainly a time to celebrate what we have achieved and encourage the scientific exploration of our own planet if not others…something I hope to learn much from in my lifetime.

NASA anniversary website

The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop - Lewis Buzbee

The first few pages of Lewis Buzbee's ode to the bookshop caught my interest immediately, appealing to all those of us who love to wile away the hours holed up in our favourite bookshops. Using his own personal experience, Buzbee explores our love of the written word, the books that hold them and the ancient bookselling trade that brings them into our lives.

Buzbee has had an interesting career, beginning as a bookseller, becoming a sales rep (sadly the advent of the internet have made that line of work almost defunct). He discusses the love of books, with anecdotes from his career, interwoven with interesting historical details and fascinating facts about the publishing industry in the United States. One chapter that particularly stood out for me was concerning the famous Shakespeare & Co bookshop in Paris, that changed the face of bookselling, and was ultimately responsible for the publication of James Joyce's epic novel Ulysses.

I loved my few years of working as a bookseller, and this fascinating and endearing book reminded me of all the amusing and satisfying days I had, the kindred spirits I inevitably worked with, and left me with a warm nostalgia I have not felt in years. The dream is still there...to open my little independent bookshop one day, even if it only remains a dream. I still spend hours at a time wandering through the shelves of many a bookshop, and in all honestly, I find nowhere else as peaceful when there are still people present.

A really enjoyable read for anyone who loves books or bookshops...so thats most people that are reading this blog!

Other blog reviews:
A Striped Armchair
things mean a lot
You Can Never Have Too Many Books

"This is very midsummer madness."

"Be not afraid of greatness: some are born great, some achieve greatness
and some have greatness thrust upon them".

It may or may not be obvious, but I love William Shakespeare. And I don't just mean the deliciousness of his prose, but his style, his manner, his humour, his pain, his intrigue and his honour. I love the period he lived in, his world, his peers, the food for his works. I've loved his work since first I read it, back in the first year of high school, aged 11. The first play I read was A Midsummer Night's Dream, which I have seen several times over the years, more than any other of his plays, despite it being far from my favourite. Interestingly, my favourites over the years have been the great tragedy Hamlet, and the quirky fantastical Tempest. And the productions I have seen tend to be large stage plays, at Shakespeare's Globe in London, and various other theatres around the country. So I can honestly say that I have never been as pleasantly suprised by a production as I was last week.

The Lord Chamberlain's Men, a travelling all-male troupe are currently touring East Anglia, playing in the grounds of several stately homes, and I managed to get tickets for one of my favourite houses, Blickling Hall. Worryingly it absolutely poured down with rain for most of the afternoon, including on the drive to the Hall, but we rallied together, armed with raincoats, garden chairs, picnic and, in the true spirit of Shakespearean merriment...wine. We arrived very early, managing to pitch our chairs right in front of the stage, and dug in to our delectable feast! Sadly, it did rain on us a little and by the end we felt the chill in the air, but the production was so entertaining that none of that mattered one bit. I do not think I have laughed that much since the second half of the excellent A Midsummer Night's Dream production at the Globe several years ago. The Lord Chamberlain's Men beguiled us with their wit, charm, singing and wonderful portrayal of Shakespeare's female characters, especially the lovely Olivia.

So I am excited. This appears to be turning into a year of Shakespeare for me. I already have tickets to both Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream (there it is again!) being performed in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral in three weeks...and you all know how much I love the Cathedral! This year is also the love season at Shakespeare's Globe, with several plays I have not seen in a long time, if ever: Love's Labour's Lost, As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet and Troilus and Cressida. And (oh yes!) the Cambridge Shakespeare Festival begins soon with six plays between now and October, so the anticipation is really getting to me.

And so I must apologise in advance, that this blog may be barraged with all things Shakespearean over the next few months...you'll just have to bear with me! Enjoy...

Waiting with our picnic!

Blickling Hall at dusk

The cosy stage

The Lord Chamberlain's Men

The drunken Sir Toby Belch and devious Maria

The lovely Olivia!

Gripped!

So I'm supposed to be at the gym right now, but I can't tear my eyes away from this tense tennis match!

Absences and challenges

So, I've been away from my blog a bit longer than planned! After three wonderful weeks in the states (which I will post all about later) I've come back to a very busy office and a summer full of fun events! Last night I went to a performance of Twelfth Night by the all-male The Lord Chamberlain's Men in the grounds of the beautiful Blickling Hall (I shall hopefully post some photos later this week). It was a little chillier and a lot wetter than all of us were hoping, but the play was so funny that we soon forgot all about it. Not to mention the fabulous picnic that we packed along with our garden chairs and bottles of wine! I'm looking forward to a glorious summer of theatre, once this blasted rain has passed!

Meanwhile, I have completed the Once Upon a Time Challenge, despite being horridly behind on my reviews. For this challenge I read 6 books that fit within at least one of the four categories:

My Swordhand is Singing - Marcus Sedgewick (fantasy, folklore)
Inkspell - Cornelia Funke (fantasy, fairy tale)
Inkdeath - Cornelia Funke (fantasy, folklore)
The Master and the Margarita - Mikhail Bulgakov (fantasy)
The Black Tattoo - Sam Enthoven (fantasy)
Puppet Master - Joanne Owen (folklore)

I shall post short reviews of these shortly, and all the other books I have read over the last couple of months.

Busy busy busy...

So, been away a while! I'm working on a manic environmental impact assessment, which is a little new to me, so I haven't really had the chance to have a break in a few weeks. Plus I've been crazy busy in the evenings, so my reading has really suffered too. But I did get to spend a weekend diving in an old quarry, albeit in 8 degree water with less than 2m visibility! It was gloriously sunny though which made up for it (see photo)! I'm hooked again and will be doing a lot more when I get back, though UK diving is certainly something to get used to!



In fact I've been so busy that I have missed my own one year blogiversary! So I'll be having a delayed little blog celebration in a month, as I'm off to the States on Monday (assuming my flights don't get cancelled due to swine flu!) for three weeks of travels, catching up with old friends and a spring wedding! This weekend will be frantic getting ready for the trip, catching a performance of Pride and Prejudice at a small local theatre, an early viewing of Coraline in 3D (not out here yet!) and seeing the wonderful Kate Rusby in concert. Just thinking about it wears me out!

So apologies to all for not commenting on your blogs recently. I have been trying to read them, (with some success) and will try and catch up on some reviews before I go. I hope you are all well and enjoy the rest of spring! I leave you all with some lovely english bluebells as seen at Blickling Hall last Friday. If that doesn't make you love spring...I don't know what will!

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - Simon Armitage

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a 14th century tale of which only one manuscript still exists today. It has been translated by many authors over the years, including the great JRR Tolkien.

The story concerns the adventure of the knight Sir Gawain, who accepts the challenge of a mysterious green skinned knight who arrives at King Arthur’s court during the Yuletide festival. The “Green Knight” offers to take a single blow with his axe, if the challenger will accept a return blow a year and a day later. The young and inexperienced Gawain accepts the challenge, in order to prove his worth. He strikes once, beheading the green warrior, who promptly picks up his own head and leaves, reminding the stunned Gawain to find him at the appointed time. Gawain leaves, determined to meet the knight as he encounters other tests and challenges along the way.

I remember reading a children's version of this as a child, as my parents donated a copy to the school library when I left. Sadly I don't remember much about how I felt about it, but I have been longing to read Simon Armitage's translation for some time now.

Sir Gawain is a tale of chivalry, loyalty and honour in the face of adversity. The writing style is Middle English verse, which takes some getting used to, but I found the story very enjoyable and accessible all the same. In fact the only part of the story that I rushed over was the hunting scene, depicted in all its glorious and gory detail, which for a vegetarian and animal lover like myself was a little much, so I skimmed those lines much quicker. The rest of the prose however, was worth savouring, especially the seduction scenes, which were playful and suggestive, but never detailed. The descriptions of court too were delightful, and I often felt myself transported there (needless to say I'm very excited about out Mediaeval Spectacular in August!!).

On the whole, this was a thoroughly enjoyable read for anyone who delights in mediaeval or Arthurian literature, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Though whether Sir Gawain met his opponent and survived the final challenge, I will that leave for you to discover!